We have selected water allocation in the middle Rio Grande region as the focus of our first project.  We have begun to bring together a diverse group of water experts and stakeholder representatives within the state of New Mexico to help us construct a model that will lead to a greater understanding of the complex issues surrounding water allocation and ultimately to a more equitable, efficient and sustainable management of our scarce water resources.  Specifically, the Atalaya Institute seeks to help ease the tension between urban and agricultural water consumers.

We will develop a computer model that identifies water-users as agents with variables that affect allocation and delivery of water such as development, drought, conservation, compacts, state water plans, etc.  This model will help stakeholders and policy-makers understand the possible outcomes of any given policy including the viability of regional water plans in managing these variables.  

An agent-based approach is important because the supply and demand models that underpin traditional policy analysis fail to account for several salient features of the water policy puzzle.  For example, physical properties of the water distribution network limit water managers’ ability to allocate supply across time and space.  Similarly, the institutional context within which water is allocated often requires complicated and unique interlocking interests--witness the Byzantine layers of water rights, all overlaid with the doctrine of prior appropriation. On the demand side, research has shown that neighbors pay considerable attention to peer behavior when choosing whether to adopt water conservation technologies.